The Golden Core exploded.
And yet—it still failed to finish off Ghost Emperor.
Even Fang Han hadn't expected that.
The man's vitality was monstrous. His Nine-Ghost Soul body—his manifestation of heaven and earth—was terrifyingly resilient. A Longevity-stage expert surviving a Golden Core's explosion made sense. But Ghost Emperor—whose physical body had been at a lower realm—weathering that blast?
That was another level entirely.
What made it worse:
He hadn't been caught in the edge of the blast.
He'd held the Golden Core in his hand when it detonated.
He'd taken the full force head-on.
And still lived.
But although Ghost Emperor survived, he was clearly crippled. A man like him—who would normally slaughter Fang Han without hesitation—was now fleeing in panic, too injured to retaliate.
If this wasn't the time to capture and kill him, when would it be?
"Gate of the Abyss—swallow!"
Ghost Emperor was heavily wounded, and his artifacts and spells were weakened accordingly. Yan, who had been suppressed by the cursed black rain, burst free. The Abyssal Gate expanded, devouring every drop of cursed rain, then lunged toward the fleeing Nine-Ghost Soul.
In the blast, Nebula Baby had also been shocked awake.
The Five-Point Sun-Moon Bracelet lit up at full power, binding the Heaven-Covering Demon Hand. A vortex of starlight erupted from his palm, pulling every scattered command flag into its depths.
The Blood Night King suppressed the Ghost-Serpent Sword.
With two artifacts pinned, Fang Han burst into motion, racing after the Nine-Ghost Soul. Capturing Ghost Emperor's manifestation was worth far more than the Golden Core he'd sacrificed. The explosion had vaporized both Ghost Emperor's flesh and every one of his magical treasures.
Even a Dao Artifact would've been damaged in that blast. Ordinary tools didn't stand a chance.
Even Ghost Emperor's Soul Throne—a high-grade treasure—had been reduced to ashes.
"Fang Han, you're vicious," Yan's voice echoed through their linked consciousness. "That trick—pretending the Golden Core was a message talisman, drawing Ghost Emperor's attention, then blowing him up point-blank… even Heavenly Demons aren't this cunning. Human devils aren't this sinister. Earth devils aren't this ruthless. You, Fang Han—you're a devil among devils."
Their spiritual link tightened. Fang Han and Yan accelerated sharply, closing the distance. The Nine-Ghost Soul—usually fast as lightning—was now wobbling through the air like a drunken ghost. The blast had scrambled his mind and nearly shattered his origin soul.
Under normal circumstances, the distance of a thousand miles would take him a blink. Now, he crawled along—ten times slower.
"A gentleman must endure, but a man must also be ruthless when needed. Sacrificing a Golden Core to take him down was worth the risk." Fang Han's mind-voice was calm, but his qi surged with lethal purpose.
They caught up.
Yan opened the Abyssal Gate, hurling it forward.
At that moment—
Several streaks of cold demonic light sliced across the sky, resolving into figures. Their cloaks and leather armor marked them as elites. They blocked the path.
The Nine-Ghost Soul reacted like a drowning man spotting a rescue boat.
"Friends! Help me! I'm being hunted by a righteous cultivator! You're from the Barbarian Demon Sect—stop him!"
"What—Ghost Emperor? Senior! How could you be so badly hurt?!"
The newcomers were shocked, then immediately turned to Fang Han.
"We are disciples of the Barbarian Demon Sect! Righteous dog—retreat immediately! This land is ours. Trespassers will be killed!"
Fang Han didn't hesitate.
"Kill them all."
The Blood Night King's blade flashed.
A river of blood-light tore across the sky.
Before the Barbarian Demon Sect disciples could react, they were cleaved in half—bodies, souls, and treasures devoured by the blade. Not even a ring or shard remained.
Fang Han showed no mercy.
Killing disciples at the gate of a sect was a deadly taboo—but his decision was already made.
Even devils didn't storm into Yuhua Sect's mountain and kill its disciples. This was the same principle.
"Yan—now!"
With the path clear, Yan unleashed the Yellow Springs Diagram. The Nine-Ghost Soul was wrapped in Abyssal qi. It seeped into his primordial essence like venom, suffocating him from within.
"Fang Han! I will never forgive you! You tricked me! You destroyed my body—crippled my manifestation! I, Ghost Emperor, cultivated for 3,700 years… and today I fall to a junior like you! I—hate—this!"
His roar tore through the sky.
But trapped in the Abyss, his pain was unbearable. His soul couldn't stabilize. Even self-destruction was impossible—his mind was too fractured to gather the will.
"You grabbed the Golden Core with your own hand. You underestimated me. That's why you lost." Fang Han poured Five-Emperor Devil Qi into the diagram, assisting Yan. The Abyssal Gate expanded once more, swallowing the Nine-Ghost Soul whole.
Silence followed.
"Fang Han… we actually killed a tenth-realm Divine Ability master. A reverse-sky fate-defier."
Yan spoke softly, stunned.
"This shouldn't be possible. Our realms are worlds apart. Before, I could've crushed him with ease—but now, with my current power, I couldn't. Yet together—we succeeded."
"A Divine Ability Tenth Realm expert…" Nebula Baby murmured, awestruck. "That's someone unrivaled below Longevity. And we… actually killed him."
Even Star Chan—the spirit of the Sun-Moon Bracelet—flew out, staring at Fang Han like he was some mythical beast.
"That strategy… that viciousness… I've never seen anything like it. Even if you had no power at all, I'd be wary of you."
His tone carried genuine fear.
This battle wasn't won with strength.
It was won with cunning.
No one could've predicted such a reversal of power.
"But we took a huge gamble," Fang Han replied. "If the Golden Core hadn't worked… we would've been finished."
He turned away.
"Come. We enter the Barbarian God Temples. I want to see what secrets their so-called curses hold. The explosion surely alerted the sect—and killing their disciples won't go unnoticed. We need to hide before reinforcements arrive."
He rose into the sky, the group following, disappearing among the towering ancient temples.
Moments after they vanished—
Dozens of beams of light converged on the battlefield. Then hundreds. Cultivators flooded the area—many at the fifth realm, some at the seventh, even Golden Core masters among them—all clad in ornate leather armor.
Disciples of the Barbarian Demon Sect.
"Elder Wu—who dared kill our disciples at the gate? Was it the Taiyi Sect? And that explosion—was that…"
A tall elder frowned deeply.
"A Golden Core self-detonation," another elder replied, his voice trembling as he surveyed the cratered earth. "The power is unmistakable. Terrifying… even the aftershocks are enough to make one's blood go cold."
"Were our disciples killed by the explosion?"
"No. The Golden Core exploded first. Our disciples arrived, and someone slaughtered them afterward."
"This is suspicious. All disciples—scatter! Search for clues!"
The hundred beams dispersed with military precision.
But none approached the abandoned God Temples deeper inside the wilderness—as though something monstrous lurked within.
From within one of those temples, Fang Han watched them silently.
"I thought the Barbarian Demon Sect was wild and primitive. But their discipline… their gear… their formations…" Fang Han murmured. "They're a true army. If they fought Yuhua Sect head-on, I'm not sure we'd win."
Even their ordinary disciples worked in squads of five, wielding flying swords forged from pure Five-Element energies—small formations that multiplied their strength severalfold.
Their training was stricter than many mortal armies.
"The Barbarian Demon Sect may live in the wilderness, but they sharpen their blades constantly," Yan said. "No wonder their Barbarian Emperor traded away ten billion pills so effortlessly."
"Enough talk. These temples are forbidden even to them," Fang Han said. "Time to explore. After escaping from the Taiyuan Immortal Mansion, nothing here can scare me."
With steady steps, he led his group deeper into the ancient, shadowed God Temples.